Wednesday, February 7, 2007


Another Broken Promise...
Democrats Have a Difficult Time with the Truth...When it comes to the Speaker’s Taxpayer-Funded Luxury Travel

Washington, DC – Rep. Tom Price (GA-06-R) issued the following statement today after Speaker Pelosi continued to press the Department of Defense to provide an Air Force C-32 plane to use for travel back to her San Francisco district.

The Promise:

    “Democrats are committed to a new direction in the way our government does business so taxpayers’ money is handled responsibly.” – Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Source: DC Examiner, 2/5/2007)

The Reality:

    The larger plane requested by Speaker Pelosi “includes 42 business class seats, a fully-enclosed state room, an entertainment center, a private bed, state-of-the-art communications system and a crew of 16.” (CNN, 2/5/07)

    In contrast, while Speaker of the House, Denny Hastert “used a smaller jet that seats 12 and has five crew members and none of the amenities.” (CNN, 2/5/07)

    "The Department of Defense offered Speaker Pelosi the same aircraft as the one used by Hastert…She found it was not big enough for staff, supporters and other Members.” (Roll Call, 2/5/2007)

    The use of military aircraft to transport the Speaker of the House began as a security precaution following 9/11 At a cost of $15,000 per hour, the military would not just be used to transport the Speaker herself but also her staff, family, other members, and friends.

“Not only is the Speaker’s request an irresponsible abuse of power, it is an obvious slap in the face of taxpayers,” said Price. “Using military aircraft to shuttle around staff, supporters, and relatives is not the intent of the original precedent set after 9/11. It is not the job of our military to chauffer the Speaker’s entourage around the country, and it demeans the true security duties they perform.”

The Solution:

    Positive, Principled, Solution-Oriented Leadership

Democrat Broken Promise Meter: 13

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